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Medium of instruction is the language that is used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the territory.
Mediums of instruction in different countries and regions
- In New Zealand, English is used in many schools, but a growing number of kohanga reo and kura kaupapa are using Maori instead.
- In the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China (ROC), Mandarin Chinese is used as the medium of instruction.
- In the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Mandarin Chinese is used as the medium of instruction in most schools. In elementary and secondary schools for ethnic minorities, the minority languages - such as Mongolian, Tibetan and Korean are also used. However, the two special administrative regions (SAR) of the PRC have their own policies on the media of instruction :
- In the Hong Kong SAR, Chinese and English, which are the official languages of the region, are used as the mediums of instruction in schools. When Chinese is used as the medium of instruction, Cantonese Chinese is usually spoken, though Mandarin Chinese is spoken in some schools. Since 1997, the Hong Kong government has pursued a policy of encouraging schools to switch to mother-tongue teaching and has only allowed about 120 of the region's approximately 400 government and aided schools to continue using English as the medium of instruction. Following recommendations from the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research the government has announced that from 2008 onwards, secondary schools will only be permitted to use English as the medium of instruction if at least 85% of students enrolling in F. 1 fall into the top 40% of students for English, mathematics and Chinese in primary school assessments, as it has deemed that only students who are in this category are able to benefit from E.M.I. This move has been controversial as parents are eager to send their children to E.M.I. schools which they consider will offer them better career opportunities, as there are fears that switching to C.M.I will make it more difficult for students to gain university places in the teritory, English being the principle medium at tertiary level, and as members of non-Chinese medium ethnic minorities are expected to find it more difficult to get school places.
- In the Macau SAR, Chinese and Portuguese are the two official languages of the region. Chinese is used as the medium of instruction in many schools. When Chinese is used as the medium of instruction, Cantonese Chinese is usually spoken, though Mandarin Chinese is spoken in some schools. Portuguese is used in government-established schools. But surprisingly, English, which is not an official language of the region, is also used in a lot of schools.
- In Australia, most schools, again, use English.
- In Finland, Finnish is the language used in most schools, but Swedish, which is also official, is used in a few schools along the coast and Sami is used in the north. See Mandatory Swedish and Pakkoruotsi
- In Romania, the medium is Romanian but Hungarian and German minorities are allowed to teach in their respective tongues.
- In Moldova, Moldovan (Romanian) is used but Russian is slowly being introduced.
- In the United States, English is used, but in some schools, Spanish, French (in Louisiana,) Hawaiian (in Hawaii) and local Indian languages are used as well.
- In Canada, English (or French in Quebec) is the medium in most schools, but Inuit languages are used in the north. See French immersion
- In Belarus, Russian is used since the government closed all Belarusian language high schools.
- In Estonia, Estonian is used with 26 schools in the south teaching Voro once a week.
- In India, mediums of instruction alternate between English, Hindi, and the respective state's official language. Private schools usually prefer one of the first two choices, while public schools tend to go with one of the last two.
- In the state of Goa, English or Konkani is used.
- In the state of Maharashtra, English or Marathi is used.
- In Ireland, English is used in most schools with a growing number of gaelscoileanna using Irish instead.
- In the Isle of Man, English is used, but Manx is being revived with on Manx-medium school at St. John's.
- In Scotland, English is used the most because there is little or no education in Lowland Scots, and Scottish Gaelic is only just starting to be used again.
- In France, legislation restricts languages other than French in state schools. Other languages of France are the medium of instruction in non-state schools such as Diwan Breton language-medium schools and the Calendretas in the south that use Occitan. See Language policy in France
- In Switzerland, German, French, Italian, and/or Romansch are used in most schools.
- In Belgium, French and Dutch (and German in some parts of Brussels) are used.
See also
"Medium of instruction"